
Seek prosperity
above good relationships
Wealth flies out the window
Die alone without either
Serve others… be loved
Be remembered
for how you made them feel
That is true wealth
*
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Seek prosperity
above good relationships
Wealth flies out the window
Die alone without either
Serve others… be loved
Be remembered
for how you made them feel
That is true wealth
*
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Last week I finally picked up this mess of string that had gotten extremely tangled. I thought I would begin rolling it onto a stick so I could use it in the future. I found the end and began to roll, but the harder I pulled the more knotted up it became. I tried weaving the stick through the loops, but it soon was tight again. Finally I picked up the loose ends and began to shake them in my hand. As I did, the end loosened up and I kept winding. It took awhile, but in the end I was able to shake this knotted mess loose and get it totally rewound onto the stick.
There are a number of analogies one could take from this, but I thought how much this is like our relationships. The harder we pull against each other the tighter the situation becomes. If we could just hang loose and let things shake themselves out, life would be a lot better for everyone. In a marriage there will always be knots somewhere down the line. If we could just hang loose and not take things so personally, perhaps we could find a way to untangle those knots. I realize some situations may require cutting the cord, but for most there is hope if both are willing to work at it.
Life’s knots and tangles
Need shakeups to work them out
Hang on… don’t jump ship
Ride out September’s gales
November brings Thanksgiving
Winter is coming
Our disposable society has a lot of downside and excess baggage that comes with it. I believe we lose so much these days because we are too quick to discard what we once held dear. Whether it be friends or family or spouse, everything these days is dispensable. Commitment and vows seem to be archaic confinements in this generation. We seem to forget that in relationships we will have differences; things that may hurt deeply, but forgiveness is always a part of life. Without forgiveness, we will go on repeating our same mistakes and adding more and more baggage to our life’s load.
She tells me it’s time to throw it out
Faded and worn // button missing
But to me it is something special
A security blanket of sorts
Putting on this old shirt is like
putting on a hug
*
Just like a long-time friend
with all our quirks and flaws
We are something special
A security blanket of sorts
Having you as a friend is like
putting on a hug
*
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Sharing this one on open link night at d’Verse.
Join us at: https://dversepoets.com Then click on the Mr. Linkey box to read from the different poets.
Inhaling smoke from your flame
Burning in the heat of the moment
You were warned, you were told
Did you listen? No!
Now you will burn
Like flash paper in a magician’s hand
Combustible feelings up in smoke
That mind-blowing moment gone
Your all-consuming desire
Not quite what you expected
Leaving ashes for memories
Dust in the wind
He’s gone!
Painting: Dwight L. Roth
Yesterday was our fiftieth wedding anniversary. Our whole family came home to celebrate with us. It was a wonderful day together. I received this tile from my wife for our twenty-fifth anniversary. This year I wrapped it up and gave it back to her. A reminder of the fifty years we have spent together. Like our relationship, it has been cracked, but not broken. Now it is cemented together and stronger than ever
Photo: Dwight Roth
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Today at d’Verse we are looking at international poetry. It is easy for poetry intent to get lost in translation. Lara gave us poems from three different international poets and asked us to pick one that inspired us and write it in our own perspective. I chose, Two Bodies, by the Mexican poet Octavio Paz. You can read the original version below:
Octavio Paz (1914-1998) – Another Spanish speaker and more recent Nobel prize winner. Born in Mexico, he was a political activist, ambassador and essayist so that much of his poetry reads like prose poems, “written within the perpetual motion and transparencies of the eternal present tense.”
Two Bodies
Two bodies face to face
are at times two waves
and night is an ocean.
Two bodies face to face
are at times two stones
and night a desert.
Two bodies face to face
are at times two roots
laced into night.
Two bodies face to face
are at times two knives
and night strikes sparks.
Two bodies face to face
are two stars falling
in an empty sky.
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Painting: Dwight L. Roth
Join us at: https://dversepoets.com
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Faith
My faith in God is not something to be proved. Rather it is something to be believed and lived. Faith is a belief about truth, with a little experience that helps reinforce it. I have found faith to be rather elusive at times in my life.
When all is well faith comes easy, but when “life happened”, as it does to all of us, it threw me for a loop! I was spiraling downward fast with no answers in sight. My prayers went unanswered. Things seemed out of control. There was no way I could fix things. The only thing I had left was faith that God was in control, and things would work out for my good. Even then I had my doubts. I was frustrated and angry.
Through it all, I found prayer was what I needed to change me, not others. In time, and with help from some good counselors, life finally got back on track. I learned a lot about myself and about God. It definitely changed my understanding of faith. A lot of what I thought was faith was mostly culture and religion, but my belief in God and his eternal providence and grace is still strong.
Burning through blackness
Spring sun rises // Dark is light
Grace for the graceless
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Mish asked us to write a Haibun about some aspect of faith. It has to be written from our experience. A Haibun has a concise prose segment followed by a seasonal haiku. Come join us at d’verse.
Shadow of Death
I will climb mountains with you
Celebrate birthdays and anniversaries too
Cry over the birth of our children…
And morn over the loss of our parents
But // am I willing to walk with you…
“Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death?”
*
I will struggle to make ends meet
Sacrifice myself so you can get ahead
Take the kids to ball games // cheer them on
And, kiss boo boos when knees are skinned
But // am I willing to walk with you…
“Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death?”
*
Can we survive the death of a child
When cancer takes its toll
Survive the blinding demons of depression
When you no longer want to live at all
Will I be willing to walk with you…*
“Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death?”
When we have faced financial loss
And all we worked for goes down the drain
When infidelity and insecurity plague our life
And forgiveness seems the last thing on the brain
Will you walk with me…
“Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death?”
*
Relationships are tough // not all fun and games
We are guaranteed to have heartaches and pain
But // if we choose to be committed //for the rest of our life…
“Till death do us part” // as husband and wife…
We will walk together… We will always be there…
“Through the Valley of the Shadow of Death!
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Photo of Stain Glass Window at Weddington United Methodist Church – Dwight L. Roth